| * Caracas launches foreign currency system * Mexico's reform plan lifts hopes for greater prosperity * China's new securities regulator: more reformist than you think * Egypt banks on bumper wheat harvest * Latam Airlines feels pressure from merger costs * Brazil oil royalties row could cost companies * Alibaba chief sees China online retail boom * Getco gets India green light * Nigerian bank Zenith plans London listing Markets: mixed Caracas launches foreign currency system
Venezuela will implement a new system for businesses to obtain foreign currency on Monday in an attempt to alleviate shortages of basic goods before elections next month.
http://on.ft.com/ZMHKIN Mexico's reform plan lifts hopes for greater prosperity
It was almost a fiesta of "Mexican handshakes" – the mark of trust between old friends that consists of a vigorous pumping of the right hand, followed by a double slap on the back, and then a final shake of the right hand again.
http://on.ft.com/ZMHRnI China's new securities regulator: more reformist than you think
What should we make of the appointment of China's new top securities regulator? The expectations are: stability, predictability, and no great drive for further market reform. But we might all be surprised.
http://on.ft.com/16JHP4U Egypt banks on bumper wheat harvest
The world's biggest wheat importer, Egypt buys half of the almost 19m tonnes it consumes annually on the international market. Traditionally, the government has maintained strategic wheat reserves equivalent to six months of consumption in order to eliminate risks to the supply of cheap bread, of which some 250m loaves are baked every day.
http://on.ft.com/16JIqUg Latam Airlines feels pressure from merger costs
Latam Airlines, Latin America's biggest carrier by market capitalisation, said net profit nosedived nearly 97 per cent last year to almost $11m, largely because of the cost of merging Chile's Lan with Brazil's Tam.
http://on.ft.com/161KG82 Brazil oil royalties row could cost companies
The row over the bill to split Brazil's oil royalties among the states has entered a new phase. The latest concern over the bill, which was the subject of a Supreme Court ruling this week, is that if it goes through, the so-called "producing states" (those with oil-producing assets within or offshore from their territories, mainly Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo and São Paulo) could start increasing local taxes on the oil industry.
http://on.ft.com/16K97Iq Alibaba chief sees China online retail boom
Jack Ma, the Chinese e-commerce tycoon, has predicted that almost a third of China's retail will be online in five years, suggesting an unprecedented transformation of consumption in the world's most populous country.
http://on.ft.com/Xqh0Md Getco gets India green light
Getco, one of the world's largest automated traders, has received regulatory approval to start operations in India, becoming the first western trading firm to tap into the country's fast-growing electronic derivatives markets.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9ff0260c-91d6-11e2-b4c9-00144feabdc0.html Nigerian bank Zenith plans London listing
Nigeria's Zenith Bank is to launch an $850m listing on the London Stock Exchange as part of a plan to internationalise its investor base.
http://on.ft.com/YZ5JoY Emerging Markets
MSCI Emerging Market Index down -0.07% at 1,026 Americas
DJIA up +0.39% at 14,512
S&P 500 up +0.67% at 1,559
Bovespa down -0.59% at 56,030 Asia
Nikkei 225 up +1.34% at 12,636
Topix up +1.17% at 1,058
Hang Seng down -0.10% at 22,234
Shanghai Composite down -0.04% at 2,316
MSCI Asia ex-Japan up +0.04% at 536.70
S&P CNX Nifty Index up +0.79% at 5,739 Currencies
€/$ 1.29 (1.29)
$/¥ 95.75 (95.98) Commodities
Brent Crude (ICE) down -0.19 at 108.53
Light Crude (Nymex) down -0.41 at 93.09
100 Oz Gold (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 1,608 | 
